Gasket winding machine



Dec. 25, 1951 Filed Feb. 10. 1949 W. R. PRICE GASKET WINDING MACHINE 2SHEETS-SHEET l Ihwentor MA; //MI ,6 Fae/45 Gttomeg Dec. 25, 1951 w. R.PRICE 2,579,858

GASKET WINDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 10'. 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 3nventor nzz/A/v B PIP/CE (Iitomeg Patented Dec. 25,. 1951 GASKET WINDING MACHINEWilliam .R. Price, Wayne, Pa.,-assignor .to Elexi- I tallic GasketCompany, Camden, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationFebruary10, 1949, Seria'lNo. 75,581

1 Claim.

This invention relates "to an all metal spiral wound gasket and to amachine for winding the same.

Gaskets of this type are extensively used in all types of high pressurefluid systems, and comwprise a spirally Wound longitudinally beadedrmetal ribbon with a packing of a softer metal interposed between thesuccessive convolutions 'of the metal ribbon.

.-In manufacturing these gaskets the metal ribbon and the metal packingare "wound together upon a rotating mandrel having aperipheral con-:tourcorresponding to the central opening through rthe gasket. One turnof the metal ribbon is wound upon the mandrel and spot-welded and thenthe "metal ribbon is wound upon itself for several (more turns and againspot-"welded. The metal packing strip, preformed to conform to the shapeof the ribbon, is now app-liedand the two strips are spirally zwoundtogether for the desired number of turns. At the end of the packingstrip the abutting convolutions-or the metal ribbon are spot-weldedtogether and .then the metal ribbon is Wound upon itself forseveralmore-turns and the end-of the ribbon isspot-welded to the underlyingturn.

As the gaskets are being-wound the convolutions are pressed tightlytogether between the mandrel and a cooperating guiding and ,formingmember to which a predetermined pressure is radially applied. Thispressure .is suflicient to cause the softer packing ,metal to new ordeform and rcoinpletelyseal thespace between .the convolution of.themetal ribbon including the central bead an to extrude at the sidesbeyond the edges of the ribbon. This pressure must beacouratelymaintained without fluctuation throughout :the winding oi the gasket.

An object of my invention .is to .provide :an improved machine .forspirally winding composite gaskets of the above type.

Another objectcf my invention is .to providea composite, a1lrnetal,spiral woundgasketIha-ving improved characteristics.

Other objects of the invention .will beap parent Fig.3 is asection-taken on the line 3-3 of Fi .1; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a portion of the =completed gasket.

The present machineis of the typeshown inm-y copending applicationSerial No. 651,594, filed March '2, 1946, :now Patent No. 2,475,856,dated July 12, 1949, and only so much thereof is shown herein as isnecessary to an understanding of the :present invention. The machinecomprises in general a mandrel t9 upon which the gasket is wound. Themandrel I9 is rotated by a suitable source of powersuchas a motor(notshown). .The peripheral contour of the mandrel is the same as thecentral opening of the gasket.

A pressure member, generally indicated by the numeral 20, is rotatablysupported in operative relation to "the mandrel 19 between two spacedparallel arms :23. The member 20 guides and compresses the :ribbons ofgasket material as "they are wound upon the mandrel l9.

The arms 23 are :pivotally mounted at the rrearends thereof uponastud'24 which is secured to a-suitable support.

.A cylinder :33 is pivotally-supported at its lower end and carries apiston having a piston rod 31 which extends out through suitable packingin the upper end of the cylinder 33 and is pivotally connected to thearmsZ-S by a clevis 38 and a pin .39. :Air under a predeterminedpressure is constantly :admitted to the cylinder '33 beneath its pistonduring the operation of the machine. This air pressure, during thewinding of the gasket on themandrel l9, lifts the forward ends of thearms 23, rocking them on the stud 24. The arms 23 in turn hold themember 20 tightly against the gasket as it is being Wound on the mandrelIS with a pressure which is determined by the pressureofthe airinthelcylinder 33. Means arealso provided to move the piston down in thecylinder 33 t0 withdrawithe pressure member 20 away from the finishedgasket on the mandrel l9 and allow ittobe-stripped'therefrom.

During winding the metal ribbon is drawn froma reel by the mandrel l 9.From the reel the ribbonextends forwardly under the arms 23 and over a:roller 263 rotatably supported by the :pin 39 between the arm of theclevis 38. After leavingthe'roller'li3 the ribbonffifl passes betweentwo forming rolls 64 and 65 and from there to the mandrel 19 where theend of the ribbon is securedin a notch 66 "in the periphery of themandrel. As the ribbon is drawn between the forming rolls '64 and 65, acentrally disposed longitudinally extending bead or corrugation 6! isformed therein.

The forming roll 64 is -nl'oiuited on a shaft 89 fastened to theeccentricshaft 13, has one end I of a coiled spring. 14 secured thereto.The other end of the spring 14 is fastened to a lug on the adjacent arm23. The spring 14 through the lever 12 urges the eccentric H in acounter-clock- Wise direction, as Viewed in Fig. 1 which yieldinglyholds the forming roll 65 against the ribbon 6G with a predeterminedpressure which is dependent upon the tension of the spring 14. With thisconstruction the forming rolls 64 and 65 will automatically adjustthemselves to any variation in the thickness of the ribbon, such as awelded joint. When inserting a new ribbon the operator moves the roll 65away from the roll 64 by rotating the eccentric H in a clockwisedirection (Fig. 3) with the lever I2.

A strip H) of packing material, such as iron, is fed from a reel (notshown) through the clevis 38 and over a roller II which is mounted on ashaft l2 for rotation between the arms 23. A bracket |3 comprising apair of arms I 4 is pivoted around the shaft l2 to swing in a limitedare about the end of the arms 23. A stop l5 limits the movement of thebracket toward the mandrel |9.- At its upper end the bracket 3 carries apair of forming rolls I6 and I1 on shafts 25 and 25 respectively. Theshaft 25 is mounted in eccentric bearings 21 arranged for adjustment ofthe spacing between the rolls I6 and H. A spring 29 engages a lever 28attached to the shaft 25 to cause the rolls l6 and I! to exert formingpressure on the strip ID. The rolls l6 and I! are of a shape to form alongitudinal bead 30 on the strip I!) which conforms as nearly aspossible to the shaped bead 61 on the ribbon 6|].

The .shafts 25 and 26 carry meshing gears 3| and 32 for driving therolls l6 and H. A driving motor 34, mounted on a bracket 35 attached tothe bracket l3, has a shaft 36 connected to drive the shaft 25 and gear32. The motor 34 may be of the hydraulic type and is preferably adjustedto exert a force just insuiiicient to turn the rolls I6 and I! with thestrip l0 therebetween. Hence the strip l0 feeds easily when a slightpull is applied thereto but does not feed when the pull is released.This avoids the necessity for start and stop controls for the motor Induring'the'winding operations. A handle 40 on an arm I 4 provides a gripfor manually retracting the bracket |3 about the shaft l2 for formin anextra length of strip l0 when desired.

This construction provides a bracket l3 which is shiftable about itspivot l2 away from said mandrel It for preforming a length of said stripHi when said strip is stationary and prior to severing said strip fromthe wound gasket.

After the metallic ribbon 60 has been wound upon itself, on the mandrelIQ, for several convolutions, the end of the strip I0 is inserted.

The metal ribbon 60 and the strip H] of metallic packing material arethen wound together in alternate convolutions until the gasket reachesthe proper size. During this part of the winding the pressure roll asexerts sufficient pressureto edge 42 projecting beyond the ribbon 60 andshaped by the flanges 4|. The ribbon 6|] may be originally as wide oreven slightly wider than the space at the base of the flanges 4| inwhich case it is contracted by the flanges 4|, the bead t? providing thenecessary resilience. The winding pressure exerted by the cylinder 33may force the metal of the packing material into the bead 6? undersufficient pressure to enlarge the side edges of the ribbon 60 away fromthe flanges 4| as indicated in Fig. 2. The relative positions of theside edges of the ribbon 60 and the packing depend upon the pressure andtheir original dimensions and the gasket may be wound with all edges inthe same plane or with the edges of the packing extruded beyond theedges of the ribbon according to the uses to which the gasket is to beplaced. For some uses a soft deformable sealing surface is desirable.For other uses the edges of the ribbon 60 should form the seal.

After the gasket reaches the desired diameter,

the strip H! is out between the rolls l6 and I1 and the mandrel I9. Justbefore cutting, however, the bracket I3 is retracted away from themandrel ill by the handle 49 to form an additional length of strip illfor insertion in the next gasket. The metal ribbon 60 is then wound uponitself for several more convolutions and cut 'off and its end isspot-welded to the underlying ribbon. The finished gasket is strippedfrom the mandrel after the pressure roll 2|! has been moved out of theway. The machine is now ready to start winding the next gasket. It willbe noted that the width of the gasket is shown greatly enlarged in Fig.2 and that in the gaskets as produced the depth of the bead ST is soshallow with respect to the diameter of the gasket that the gasket maybe readily stripped from the mandrel IS without injury thereto.

A drag 43 of any desired construction may be positioned to exert acontrolled drag on the ribbon 60 during the winding operation. A heater44 may be provided for heating the strip II] of packing material as itis fed to the mandrel. The heater may be of any desried type, anelectric oven being shown for purposes of illustration, and is usefulfor softening certain types of packing, for example, a metal such asiron or a thermoplastic such as nylon or a cellulosic material.

The packing strip If! is preferably made of a softer metal than theribbon filland may be somewhat thicker. For example, the ribbon 6|] maybe made of stainless steel and the strip IU of other metals, such asaluminum, soft iron, aluminum-nickel alloys, copper, brass, zinc orlead. It must be non-corrosive to the materials with which it is to beused and selected according to the temperature to which it will besubjected. The metal packing has the advantage that liquids will notwick out and it remains firm at temperatures that would calcine asbestosto a powder. The packing may also be made of stainless steel in whichcase it may be heated to soften the strip for forming. For certainpurposes a'plastic may be used.

Each flange 4| has a plane surface which is flared outwardly at an angleof'about 4. The

flanges 4| confine and form the gasket laterally,

as it is being wound. The flare or taper eliminates uncontrolledfriction due to the lateral orside pressure" of the gasket as it isbeing wound under the substantial radial pressure exerted by thecylinder 33. It also shapes the gasket with a taper so that it graduallydecreases in thickness from the inner periphery to the outer periphery.

Suitable electric welding apparatus for spotwelding the convolutions ofthe gasket together at the proper places is provided upon the machine,but since that apparatus forms no part of this invention it is notillustrated or described herein.

It is to be understood that I am not limited to the specificconstruction shown and described herein as various modifications can bemade therein within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A machine for winding a gasket composed of a spiral Wound ribbon and aninterleaved spiral wound packing strip, comprising a rotatable mandrelon which the gasket is to be wound, a pressure roll mounted to exertradial pressure against the gasket on said mandrel during winding, amember carrying said roll for retraction as the diameter of the gasketon said mandrel increases, a pair of ribbon forming rolls carried bysaid member and positioned to preform the ribbon as it is fed to saidmandrel for winding, a bracket pivoted to said member, and a second pairof forming rolls carried by said bracket and positioned to preform thepacking strip as it is fed to said mandrel for winding between theconvolutions of said ribbon, said bracket being shiftable about itspivot away from said mandrel for preforming a length of said strip Whensaid strip is stationary.

' WILLIAM R, PRICE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 421,423 Nauman Feb. 18, 18901,627,604 Hittle May 10, 1927 2,122,477 Leonard July 5, 1938 2,176,719Peyton Oct. 17, 1939 2,259,609 Boyd Oct. 21, 1941 2,263,815 Northrup etal Nov. 25, 1941 2,442,311 Price May 25, 1948 2,475,856 Price July 12,1949 2,478,716 Shaw Aug. 9, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date308,320 Germany Oct. 11, 1918

